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Tuesday, 30 August 2011

Last month was holiday time here in Germany. Most of my friends had their moms visiting them. When ever I used to call them, they usual reply I got was " I am playing with my son, and lunch?? yeah.. my mom took over from me, she is cooking something." An other friend of my said " I had some shopping to do, so I left my daughter with my mom, and they were playing together, she made delicious parathas by the time I came home." Again a similar story, one of my friend had guests for dinner, and when I called her the next day casually to ask how it went, she said " It went very well. All of them enjoyed the food so much... my mom made Biryani, and it was all sold up. "

So, got the pattern, when moms visit us, we handover the kitchen to them... But I thought I would be different. I wanted to ask my mom to rest while I cooked for her . My mom came here on Sunday... I was all excited... As I have decided earlier, I did not make my mom cook ... I asked her to relax and play with her grandson.

Today morning I woke up and came downstairs to get milk for my son and prepare for breakfast... and what do I see???She is already up, milk already boiled, and cooled and ready to go into bottle. Everything prepared for breakfast... and she was planning on what to cook for lunch.... my my... u see.... Moms :-)

So its not that we handover the kitchen to them... they take over from us :-) or is it the same ... (confused)

Coming to the recipe... This was made by my mom for today's lunch.... a simple and delicious dish which goes very well with Steamed Rice or Rotis.

Add salt, cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Till the water disappears.

Add Beans and fry for 2 - 3 minutes on medium heat, and then on high heat for 2 min.

Serve hot with Rice or rotis.

Mom's Tips :Do not add strained water in Step 7, more than 1/2 cup, else it becomes mushy.Add a handful of chopped coriander leaves for extra taste.If you are in a hurry, or if you forgot to soak dal before hand. Boil dal along with beans. Strain immediately after done.

Thursday, 25 August 2011

There are many stories as of how the name Chicken 65 originated. Let's not discuss the details of the theories and stories revolving around this name, as the internet is full of them :-) Neither of them are so convincing.

Anyways.....
What's in a Name? That which we call Chicken 65, By any other name would taste as delicious :-)

There are many ways we make this dry, wet, spicy, less spicy. This version of my Chicken 65 is a medium spicy, dry dish, which can be served as starter.... along with drinks, or as a side dish for Sambar as my boys like it.

Monday, 22 August 2011

I just had the two most glorious days.. Saturday and Sunday... spending the whole day with my son and hubby... doing what ever I like... lazying on bed for as long as I need....Now I should be back to work, get up early in the morning... prepare breakfast and pack boxes for both my men. Back to cleaning, cooking, washing :-)

So to overcome my Monday blues, I start my day listening to good music. I love listening to Rafi. My favorite songs are "Chaudavin Ka Chand Ho" and "Baharon Phool Barsaao" sung by him, such a wonderful songs with wonderful lyrics .... can a day start better than this!!Thinking about delicious and comforting food also helps in dealing with Monday blues in my case :-)

Usually on Mondays I cook which is very easy, which takes very less time and effort.The recipe I am sharing with you is one such dish which is simple yet delicious and goes well with Roti or Steamed rice.

Thursday, 18 August 2011

I love anything sweet... cookies, chocolates, cakes.... yummm. Cakes in particular are my favorite, nothing can beat the smell of a freshly baking cake in the oven. And talking about cakes, I always had a fascination towards Swiss rolls.
The two myths which got cleared recently are - 1. I used to think Swiss Rolls are from Switzerland :-) 2. I thought that only professional bakers can make Swiss Rolls

After I started Baking, I never tried to experiment with Swiss Roll, because I thought its a very complicated process.But despite the appearance, Swiss Rolls are in fact very easy to make.
It was easy than the Pineapple Pastry I made sometime back.
Its so light and fluffy , not very sweet. You can have this with tea, or as dessert after supper, I can have it even for breakfast :-)

And Swiss Rolls are not from Switzerland. According to wikipedia, they originated somewhere in Central Europe. Its a traditional German, Hungarian and Austrian type of Cake. And in Germany they call it Biskuitrolle or Roulade.

Place the raspberries and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent burning.

Remove from heat when the jam has thickened (it will thicken further when cool).

Stir in the chocolate chips, mix well to combine with the jam. Set aside to cool.

To Assemble :

Unroll the Sponge Cake.

Spread a layer of whipped cream on the sponge.

Pipe lines of raspberry jam on the cream.

Roll up the sponge.

Wrap it in the baking paper and keep chill in fridge for an hour to set the swiss roll.

Serve chilled, drizzled with chocolate sauce.

Mom's Tips:You can make the sponge cake before hand.
While beating egg whites, you can add 1/4th tea spoon cream of tar tar or a small pinch of salt, to get full volume.
You can add whole Raspberries for extra taste while rolling the cake.
The Swiss roll can be filled with any filling like, chocolate ganache, any type of jam or just the whipped creme.

Tuesday, 16 August 2011

One of the memories I have as a kid were of the days, my mom waiting on Sunday early mornings for the fish vendor, who used to sell fish and prawns on a bicycle. All the ladies from the neighborhood coming to him and the bargaining, the early morning gossips etc. I used to sit and watch while the fish vendor washed and cleaned the fish and prawns.
My grandmom makes the best fish curry I have ever tasted. From the time I started cooking I tried my grand-moms recipe, but always something or the other used to go wrong. I always used to get confused about the amount of tamarind used, my dish used to be too tangy or very less tangy..
So I decided to modify her recipe to suit my way of cooking :-)
The authentic Andhra fish curry/pulusu is made using only tamarind sauce. In my version I mixed tomato pulp and tamarind for the gravy.
This was very much liked by both my men.

Mom's Tips :This curry tastes better the next day or after two days.
Mom advices to use Fresh water fish for better result.
To make coconut poppy seeds paste-
Grate 1 cup of fresh coconut (You can use dry coconut if you don't have fresh one)
Fry 4 Tbsp of poppy seeds in a pan with out adding oil till it emits nice aroma and slightly turns brown, and allow it to cool.(Alternatively you can soak poppy seeds in water for about an hour or two) Add poppy seeds in the mixer and grind for a min, add a few Tbsps of water and grind again.It takes around 10 mins. Then add coconut and grind well. Add water if required. You can store this in refrigerator for 2 or 3 days.

Friday, 12 August 2011

I love mangoes in any form. Back in India, during Mangoes season there used to be a competition between me, my mom and my grand-mom, about who eats maximum number of mangoes per day. We even used to select the ripe mango before the other got up and hide it in a safe place :-) It all seems so silly when I think of it now, but it is those silly moments I enjoyed the most :-)When my mom was first diagnosed diabetic, the first question she asked the doctor was, "Can I eat Mangoes?" And the doc answered, of-course you can eat mangoes, one or two pieces per day, or at the maximum 1 per day, and seeing the confused expression on my mom's face he asked how many she ate per day, and she coolly replied around 6 to 8. I can still remember the face of the doctor, with his jaw dropped.Yeah we used to eat around 6 to 8 and sometimes 10 mangoes per day, skipping lunch and dinner. That is the love we have for this particular fruit.After coming to Germany I always missed them. The mangoes we get here do not have the taste of the mangoes in India.Whenever I crave for mangoes I get the canned ones in Indian store. Well, something is better than nothing :-)

Coming to the recipe, I made this when my friends visited us for dinner, and it was a huge hit. Luckily I made extra portions, because most of them ended up having two portions.

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

Its becoming a challenge to cook for my son. He is such a picky eater. But he loves chicken... in any form :-) So I wanted to try a curry with soya chunks... after all its a vegetarian chicken :-) That is what we used call when we were young.Using soya chunks is very easy and no fuss process and tasty to eat.

Boil a glass of water, add salt and soya chunks. Bring it to a boil once, turn off heat and drain the water. Squeeze the soya if you think there is more water. Keep aside. If you are not in a hurry, you can soak them in warm water with salt for 30 to 40 min and then squeeze them.

Take a deep pan, and add oil. Once hot, add urad dal, mustard seeds and jeera.

Mom's Tips :You can even omit potatoes and make it using only soya chunks.In the end if you feel the curry too dry, you can add 2 or 3 Tbsps of milk or cream.If you don't have Kitchen King masala, you can add chicken masala.I omitted red chilli powder as I was cooking for my son. If you want it spicy, add a tsp of chilli powder while adding garam masala.

My kid loved it, so I can say that it will be a sure hit if you want to try something new with your kids.

Monday, 8 August 2011

Sambar..its an everyday recipe in most of the households in Andhra. When I thought of posting this recipe my dear hubby asked why I wanted to post such an easy recipe. This was the scene which happened yesterday in our house...

Me: I want to post my sambar recipe today in my blog.DH: Sambar..... but its such an easy everyday recipe, who would read that?Me: Yes, I know.. Do you know how to make it?DH: Of course, its a child's play.Me: Then why don't you make sambar today?DH: Why not? Today I will show you how to prepare traditional south Indian sambar (with a proud "only I can do it" smile on his face)

After almost 2 hrs...

Me: Its almost two hours.. what are u still doing in the kitchen?DH: I have almost completed it... but it didn't actually turn out like the regular Sambar..I am mean it tastes good...but not like the one you make.DH: I am not sure what went wrong.Me : (Seeing the outcome.. of so called Sambar) What is this??? What did u add?DH: Veggies, Tamarind juice, Sambar powder..Me: What about Dal?DH: DO WE NEED TO ADD DAL???

That was it.. at that moment I decided posting Sambar recipe is not at all a bad idea :-)

Mom's Tips :Coconut powder and Jaggery can be added depending on taste. You can even omit them if you want.Mom usually adds them when making sambar for idly or dosa. For eating with rice, she omits them.For step 2, alternatively you can add oil and do Step 6 and then Step 3 and 4. When they are half done add water. And proceed with Step 5.

Saturday, 6 August 2011

What would you prefer on a late afternoon or an evening of a scorching hot day? Ice tea, chilled juice, chilled beer hmm :-) , or perhaps something with vitamins and healthy.. like a smoothie... yummmm.

I love smoothies especially with seasonal fruit. Coming to fruits, my better half doesn't very much like bananas, and my little monster doesn't like strawberries, he says it has too many small seeds :-)

One such hot evening, two men in my house were craving for something to drink, something sweet and chilled. The drink which came into my mind immediately was a smoothie, but the only fruits I had at hand were bananas and strawberries. And the only way I can make my men have the fruits they don't entertain is in the liquid form.

Halve the strawberries, removing the green tops. Cut the banana and put both fruits into the blender, add milk and sugar and honey(if using), and blend till smooth.
Add crushed ice and serve chilled.

Verdict :Absolutely yummy, healthy and cooling.

Mom's Tips:Sugar and Honey are for people with an extra sweet tooth, like us. For a more healthy recipe skip them both, or skip sugar and add just the honey.
You can also sieve it before serving, it depends on how you prefer.
You can also make it with Yogurt.